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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  TTY  202  /  418-  2555  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE:  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACTS 
 August  5,  2002  David  Fiske  at  202-  418-  0513  Michael  Balmoris  at  202-  418-  0253 
 WILLIAM  MAHER  COMMENCES  DUTIES  TODAY  AS  CHIEF  OF  FCC  WIRELINE  COMPETITION  BUREAU 
 Washington,  DC  –  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  Chairman  Michael  Powell  today  announced  that  William  Maher  is  commencing  his  duties  today  as 
 the  new  Chief  of  the  Wireline  Competition  Bureau.  On  June  21,  2002,  Powell  had  announced  his  intention  to  name  Maher  to  the  position. 


 Maher  was  formerly  a  partner  in  the  telecommunications  law  firm  Halprin,  Temple,  Goodman  &  Maher,  where  since  1994  his  practice  has  addressed  wireline, 
 wireless  and  international  telecommunications  issues. 
 Before  joining  Halprin,  Maher  served  as  Associate  Administrator,  Office  of  Policy  Analysis  and  Development,  for  the  National  Telecommunications  and  Information 
 Administration  (NTIA)  in  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Commerce  from  1989  to  1994,  where  he  assisted  the  Executive  Branch  in  formulating  policies  on  a  wide-  range  of 
 telecommunications  issues. 
 Maher  previously  served  at  the  FCC  from  1985-  1989  in  the  Common  Carrier  Bureau,  as  Special  Counsel  for  Competitive  Issues.  Maher  worked  on  Computer  III, 
 Open  Network  Architecture  and  federal-  state  jurisdiction  issues. 
 Maher  received  a  B.  S.  in  Electrical  Engineering  from  the  University  of  Notre  Dame  and  an  S.  M.  in  Electrical  Engineering  from  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
 Technology.  After  serving  as  an  engineer  on  the  technical  staff  of  Bell  Laboratories,  he  attended  Harvard  Law  School  where  he  received  a  J.  D  in  1984. 


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